the sun, romney sidestepped the controversy in an interview with cnn's piers morgan. >> you've been criticized for knocking the british enthusiasm. are you feeling it now? >> well, i'm delighted to see the kind of support that has been around the torch for instance. >> reporter: the uproar in london reached its crescendo when the city's mayor taunted romney in front of 60,000 people. >> there's a guy called mitt romney who wants to know whether we're ready. he wants to know whether we're ready. are we ready? [ cheers and applause ] are we ready? yes, we are! >> reporter: he's also taking heat that a meeting, norm le kept seek ri. >> i appreciate the insight and perspectives of the leaders as well as the head of the mi6 as we discussed syria.

>> reporter: romney's top surrogates are brushing it off saying openings in the next two legs israel in po lapd. >> poland had the rug pulled on them on missile defense. >> reporter: president obama had his own awkward moments in britain last year when he tried to toast queen elizabeth as an orchestra played. >> in the words of shakespeare to this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this england, to the queen. >> sells papers. >> selling papers here. >> reporter: as for that morning headline hangover, we found londoners willing to cut romney some loyal slack. >> anything in the sun should be taken with a bucket load of salt. >> reporter: after he attends the opening ceremonies with his wife, ann, romney's next stop is israel where he has a full slate

scheduled wibenjamin netanyahu. and, candy, the romney campaign and candidate himself made it very clear he does not plan on criticizing the president on foreign soil, but his trip to israel has an message to the middle east. >> we saw londoners some anyway seem forgiving of the romney mark. is there any concern within the romney campaign that it might hurt him back home? or is this they're just waiting for the next day to pass? >> reporter: you know, so far, candy, the romney campaign has not really said much about how he's been received here. he not only sidestepped that question with piers morgan, he also did so on "today" show. and they kept directing reporters back to what mitt romney said at an earlier meeting before he met with david cameron when he basically said he was confident that the games would go on without a hitch. so at this point, candy, they're

sort of pretending it never really happened. >> probably a good idea. thanks so much jim acosta in london for us. quick note, wolf is traveling to israel right now where he'll interview mitt romney. we'll have that right here monday on "the situation room." president obama is doing his best to dim the spotlight using tools on a president has. chief white house koerpt jessica yellin has that part of the story. jessica, it's good to be president in an election year. >> reporter: sure, it can be, candy. look, the president he is far from london. but he is putting in a strong performance when it comes to trying to overshadow mitt romney's overseas trip. the obama campaign is getting in on the olympics competition sending the most popular member of their team to london. and spending a whopping $6.5 million during the summer games with ads like this.

>> i believe that the way you grow the economy is from the middle out. >> reporter: just one way they're countering mitt romney's big european adventure. romney is taking heat for suggesting london may not be ready for the games. but the president, he's said to have. >> the utmost confidence in our close friend and ally, the united kingdom, as they finalize preparations to host the london olympics. >> reporter: take that. romney's next stop, israel. and guess what? the white house has countered there too announcing $70 million to support missile defense technology in israel called the iron dome. >> we're going to be able to lock-in that funding to assure that that program continues and that we are standing by our friends in israel when it comes to these kinds of attacks. >> reporter: an election year offering at a time when pro-israel voters are worried about the threat of possible attacks from iran. >> we are both so pleased and so

grateful to this president. >> this bill is the -- in effect is the manifestation of the president's word. >> reporter: then romney's off to poland. he's trying to capitalize on tense relations between the two nations after the obama administration withdrew support for a george w. bush-era plan for a missile defense system partly based there and did it on an important anniversary in poland. >> i just want to thank you and the people of poland for the extraordinary welcome that i've received since i arrived. >> reporter: but the administration has a play there too. secretary of defense panetta just met with the polish defense minister announcing u.s. troops will be stationed in poland. candy, all these moves by the administration also help drown out some bad news on the economy. today the commerce department announced that the gross

domestic product, an overall measure of the larger economy, slowed in the spring down to 1.5%. it needs to be about double of that to really spur hiring. now, despite that, the white house is predicting that that economic number will jump upwards by the end of the year to 2.6%. no doubt all of this will be foder for the campaign trail when mitt romney gets back from his european trip. but for now i guess it's mono y mono wherever he goes. >> how much of this is coincidence and not at all coincidence? >> reporter: some of this had to be planned well in advance. the timing happens to be very fortuitous. but as for something like the ad going up during the olympics, that's definitely calculated by the campaign to be a big splash on time when many americans are watching. so that one definitely not coincidence, candy. >> jessica yellin at the white house, thank you. a court filing by the

attorney for colorado theater shooting suspect james holmes reveals that holmes was a patient of a university of colorado psychiatrist before the massacre. it also states that a suspicious package found in a school mail room was addressed to that doctor. meanwhile, police in prince george's county, maryland just outside washington displayed an impressive arsenal by a man who threatened to shoot people at his former workplace. he allegedly referred to himself as joker, the same name as holmes allegedly used. joe johns is with us working the story whachlt are you finding out, joe? >> candy, file this under the heading threats police are taking very seriously right now. they thinkaverted a workplace injury. a man in the process of getting fired from his job. he worked for a subcontractor. on monday he made a series of calls that got him thinking

about james holmes, the alleged movie theater shooter. >> he made significant threats to coming back and harming people at the business. in fact, he said i'm a joker. and i'm going to load my guns and blow everyone up. >> those calls were reported to police and led to an investigation. when police questioned the suspect, they reported he was wearing a shirt that said "guns don't kill people, i do." according to authorities those facts along with the number of guns registered to the suspect was enough for police to bring him in. >> did he own all the guns in that display? >> it was quite a few, wasn't it? it was pretty incredible. the police were surprised by that. authorities say they confiscated 25 different firearms from this man's apartment. 40 steel boxes of ammunition and arsenal much larger than the authorities confiscated in the colorado movie shooting. federal authorities say the suspect appears to have purchased these guns legally. he apparently had a state gun

collector's license, which meant he could get around maryland law that says you can't buy more than one gun a month for certain types of firearms. we're not releasing this man's name because he hasn't been formally charged. he's 28 years old. there's a court order for him to have a mental evaluation. >> sounds like at least that's an order. thank you so much, joe johns. appreciate it. the london olympic games officially starts moments ago. you won't see it until later tonight. but we have the first images inside the stadium next. and one of the most difficult tasks in london, keeping everyone safe. we're talking live with a man who knows that all too well. new york police commissioner ray kelly. and the cab craze that's sweeping parts of the country, but it's making some people mad in the nation's capital. [ female announcer ] with the e-trade 360 investing dashboard. free streaming quotes, all your investments, positions, and even your trade ticket are all on one customizable page.

see the 360 investing dashboard at e-trade. would you mind if to be i go ahead of you?omer. instead we had someone go ahead of him and win fifty thousand dollars. congratulations you are our one millionth customer. people don't like to miss out on money that should have been theirs. that's why at ally we have the raise your rate 2-year cd. you can get a one-time rate increase if our two-year rate goes up. if your bank makes you miss out, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy development comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing generations of cleaner-burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self-contained well systems. and, using state-of-the-art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities

and the environment. we're america's natural gas. [romney singing]: oh beautiful, for spacious skies, i'm barack obama and i approve this message. for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee, and crowned thy good, with brotherhood... with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide.

antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. opening ceremonies are just

getting underway. if you stay with us, you'll know the highlights before any of your friends waiting for tonight's prime time replay. we saw new images of the stadium. what i'm looking at right now looks pretty much like an english country home. tell us what's going on? >> reporter: candy, if you'd come to me two minutes ago, you'd been absolutely right. but movie director danny boyle's $40 million vision for this opening ceremony is a fast paced one. so already the scene behind olympic stadium has changed from the green and pleasant land, the opening scenes of this opening ceremony to what they're now calling pandemonium. that's the official name in the media notes for this chapter of the opening ceremony. and we have seen vast towers with smoke billowing out of them rising from the floor of the stadium where only going to see the likes of famous track and

field athletes take part in their events. the green and present land has been transformed. and this is representing the industrial revolution of the 19th century and the rapidly changing globe. it could all go very quiet behind me in a moment as they signal remembrance. and that was the first world war, often referred to as the great war that had so many casualties. opening ceremonies underway. london welcoming the world at a total cost of more than $14 billion, candy. >> let me see if i have this correct. the tranquil litting farm scene that we saw has now changed over to some sort of march through a little bit of british history which will then be followed by athletes, is that correct? >> exactly. they're going to bring us right up through the 19th century, 20th century, the uk's past to the present. it's gone very quiet. all the actors, the 10,000

volunteers, a lot from the local area traditionally deprived all part of the regeneration process we're seeing poppy fields, the traditional symbol of remembrance in this country. a somber moment. but probably only a brief one. the rest of the opening ceremony as we've got hints from earlier in the week when we heard the rehearsals going to be very upbeat. lots of uk rock music. all sorts of question marks as to who's going to be here. but the uk's famous bands like rolling stones, beatles, the royal family of course, david beckham, james bond, who knows. some, many, if not all of those celebrities could well appear here this evening, candy. >> so another big thing always is who's going to take that final torch walk and then put it into the flame that goes on for all of the olympics? any hints on that? >> reporter: i'll tell you what i heard earlier today that bookmakers were slashing the

odds on her majesty the queen herself lighting the olympic flame. whether they have a clue or just a flurry of bets from some optimistic punters, i don't know. i think although secrets have leaked out ahead of the opening ceremony, who's going to light that flame has been a very closely guarded secret. they've been having a social networking campaign with a #savethesurprise. it's been effective so far. the world's media is here, 21,000 of us. that's more than double the number of athletes and we've kept it secret. we've got the notes, we know what's going to happen. but i can't tell you. >> well, that is just so not fun of you, alex. thanks very much. we'll come back to you when you can tell us. i appreciate it. so how do you protect all those volunteers, athletes and fans? it's not easy. we'll dissect the security plan with one of the nation's top cops, new york police commissioner ray kelly. plus, katherine jackson back with her grandchildren. but the drama isn't over. we b,

the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. the global ready one ? yeah, but you won't need... ♪ hajimemashite. hajimemashite. hajimemashite. you guys like football ? thank you so much. i'm stoked. you stoked ? totally. ... and he says, "under the mattress." souse le matelas. ( laughter ) why's the new guy sending me emails from paris ? paris, france ? verizon's 4g lte devices are global-ready. plus, global data for just $25. only from verizon.

mary snow is in new york monitoring some of the other top stories in "the situation room" right now. mary, mark zuckerberg's facebook is facing some serious trouble on wall street. >> it is, candy. hello there. the dow ended above 13,000 points for the first time since may. major indices saw more than 1% increases overall. yet, investors aren't liking what they see from facebook. shares tumbled on friday despite facebook's initial earnings report slightly better than analysts predicts. shares finished at $23.71 down 12% for the day. worries loom how the company

will make money from its mobile platform. a deadly showdown could be on the horizon in syria's largest city after rebel forces say the assad regime unleashed tanks and helicopters in aleppo causing what they're calling a horrific massacre. the u.n. secretary general is pleading for the fighting to stop. at least 100 people were killed across syria today. the opposition also says a syrian parliamentarian from aleppo has defected to turkey, the latest of high syrian diplomats to flee the country. here in the u.s. katherine jackson now shares guard yiansh of michael jackson's children. tj jackson has agreed to share. tito's 34-year-old son will be in charge of day-to-day tasks like managing the house and security. the move comes after katherine's somewhat mysterious trip to arizona prompting a missing persons report. and sisters in sacramento share

a rare intestinal disorder that's made eating impossible for decades. but now michelle sayers is on track to eat solid food for the first time since she was 6 years old. ucla surgeoning replaced her intestinal tract. her sister is hoping to undergo the same surgery very soon. really amazing, candy. >> wow. that is amazing. thanks so much, mary snow. appreciate it. prominent republicans are weighing in on the republican veepstakes including rudy giuliani. we'll talk about his pick for mitt romney's running mate in strategy session with donna brazile and erick erickson. and killer storms tear across the northeast. we're now learning they spawned at least three tornadoes. male spirit present.trong it's the priceline negotiator. >>what? >>sorry. he wants you to know about priceline's new express deals. it's a faster way to get a great hotel deal without bidding.

pick one with a pool, a gym, a great guest rating. >>and save big. >>thanks negotiator. wherever you are. ya, no. he's over here. >>in the refrigerator? why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor.

we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

i'm candy crowley. here are some stories we're working on for our next hour. why mitt romney's trip to israel is more about attracting christian evangelicals than jewish voters. former house speaker newt gingrich and former labor secretary robert rice will go head-to-head on which party has the quickest fix for the economy. plus, the story of a family that's literally living on the brink. standby, you're in "the situation room." joining me for today's strategy session democratic strategist, donna brazile. and erick erickson, editor and chief of red state.com. erick, first to you couple things jessica yellin pointed out at the top of the hour. team obama is running major ads during the olympics.

michelle obama is in london. defense secretary panetta visited poland to discuss missile defense. all of these happen to be places that mitt romney is going on his trip, london, israel -- england, israel, poland. this cannot be a coincidence. how do you interpret that? is this campaign as usual? do you think the romney campaign looks like it's running a little scared? interpret this for me. >> well, you know, actually i think it's smart politics by the president. it is politics. he does want to highlight while romney's going to those areas where the romney campaign wanted to argue the president has not treated these particular allies as well as he should have. i would agree with romney. but it's good politics. and it's an advantage of having the white house in play this time for barack obama. remember, he too went on a foreign trip in 2008. and while the republicans may have had the white house, neither the president nor the vice president were running for anything. and the bush white house didn't game this the way the obama

campaign is. for my republican friends out there, i support mitt romney going on the trip, but it's pretty savvy politics for the president to do it. >> so, donna, i think though if i were a consultant and we've talked endlessly for a year about how this is all about the economy, i might take this advantage when my opponent is overseas at the olympics and talking to israeli officials to say, by the way, i'm home here talking about your job and your economy instead of this. >> well, president obama is talking about jobs and the economy. he talks about it each and every day. and as you know he was just here recently speaking to the national urban league and he highlighted the economy and the things he's doing to try to continue to turn this economy around. but look, i want to say this is also good public policy. as you know, secretary hillary clinton was in israel two weeks ago, under secretary, national security advisor and mr. panetta will be in israel on monday. this is a very important time with israel with so much tension

unfolding in the middle east when syria and iran and turkey, i think it's important that the administration is there on the ground regardless if mitt romney has decided to, you know, go and take a little summer hiatus to those countries. >> erick, finish up. >> well, you know, you would think the romney campaign -- i realize why they wanted to go, but they might have been smart to wait and go tomorrow after the opening ceremonies because of the gdp numbers coming out today. to donna's point and your point on the economy, more people went on disability and social security last month than went into private sector jobs. it would do the republican nominee to be stateside. they might have thought about the timing before they went. >> timing is all in life and politics -- donna, let me move you to another subject. i haven't had a chance to talk

to you all about the veepstakes with romney. sooner or later he's going to have to announce who it is. we've heard from prominent republicans, house speaker john boehner said he would like to see rob portman who are is from ohio as is boehner. and today former new york mayor rudy giuliani chimed in with this. >> i think marco rubio would be the best choice. >> why? >> i think he's the most exciting. i think the concentration on what he can do with the hispanic vote is a little narrow. yes, he'll help with the hispanic vote. but he'll help with young people too. he's of a different generation. he makes outreach much more possible to younger people, people in their 30s. where republican party has a little bit of a deficit. >> so, donna, come on in and join in with this. marco rubio, portman, who do you think would be the best choice for mitt romney? >> you know, tim pawlenty, tom

thune. >> pick one. >> i don't have a favorite in this ball game. >> who would he be smart to pick. >> i think there's a problem with number one. look, i think tim pawlenty would be a great target for mitt romney. he's out there, he's been vetted a little bit in the public. the last thing mitt romney needs right now is another candidate out there who has not been properly vetted and we might request to see things that mitt romney himself will not give up. >> erick, and pawlenty always brings with him a blue collar background. he does very well in middle class and places where sometimes romney does not always do well. but if you had to pick between those names that are out there, pick a favorite for me? >> i would say i've thought for a long time he would wind up picking bob mcdonald whether he's my favorite or not. i think that makes sense for him in virginia. i would also keep an eye on bobby jindal just given his background. he's actually younger than marco rubio and has the executive experience. romney said he wanted someone with executive experience. i like pawlenty, but what does

he get you? you're probably not going to win minnesota anyway. you can get someone else blue collar and didn't have the staying power in the presidential campaign. >> i have to end it there. come back and we'll talk about it when someone else brings up a name we haven't heard of. appreciate it all. >> candy crowley for vice president, yea. >> no thanks. i've seen it. >> there you go. extraordinary security measures at the london olympics. we're going to talk about them with new york city's police commissioner. he's in aspen, colorado. in our next hour, we're live on the ground in syria where the latest reports of what's being called a horrific massacre in the country's commercial capital. [ ryan ] maybe just a short run today. [ man ] "the odyssey," by homer. book one.

tell me, o muse... famous town of troy... book three. book 12. poseidon... book 17. book 20. thunderbolts. book 24. the end. [ ryan ] alright, what's next. [ man ] chapter one. call me ishmael. some years ago... [ male announcer ] at&t. the nation's largest 4g network. rethink possible. i've never written a fan letter before, but you've done the impossible. you made gluten free cereals in a whole bunch of yummy flavors. cinnamon chex and honey nut chex are two of our favorites. when my husband found the chocolate one, we were in cereal heaven. the only problem is, with so many great flavors, you're making it very hard to choose. your fans, the mcgregor family. 'cause we love chex. ♪ [ male announcer ] and now try new gluten free apple cinnamon chex. new gluten free see life in the best light. [music] transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light.

so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. hundreds of thousands of olympic fans, thousands of troops on the ground in london along with hundreds of surveillance cameras. is it enough to keep london safe? ray kelly joins me live next.

home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance, where the costs to both repair your home and replace your possessions are covered. and we don't just cut a check for the depreciated value --

we can actually replace your stuff with an exact or near match. plus, if your home is unfit to live in after an incident, we pay for you to stay somewhere else while it's being repaired. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance. because you never know what lies around the corner. to get a free quote, call... visit a local office, or go to libertymutual.com today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? the biggest challenge during the olympics will be keeping terrorists out and everyone else safe. cnn's dan rivers is walking the streets of london for us checking out olympic security. >> reporter: candy, there is a

very high security presence throughout central london. it's really unprecedented. they've got 950,000. in addition to that some 5,000 or 6,000 some private security guards. and more than 18,000 soldiers have also been mobilized. some of them guarding the olympic venues themselves, the olympic village and stadiums and so on. some of them though filling in the gaps where the private security guards were unable to provide. put it all together combined with the extensive network of closed circuit televisions cops have in london anyway and they've added another 8,000 cameras on top of the 12,000 they had. put all that together and basically the government is saying that is an incredibly robust security package, which they feel gives the games the greatest chance of being safe and secure.

of course they can't prevent everything happening. there is a risk, of course, of a terrorist attack. but they feel that they have put enough pieces of the jigsaw in place to counter most threats. candy. >> i want to get more on olympic security now with new york city police commissioner ray kelly. he joins us from colorado where he's taking part in the aspen security forum. commissioner, you're in charge of another one of the world's largest cities. you have had lots of large events in new york. as you look at security in london, if you're in charge, what's your worst fear here? >> well, first, let me say, candy, i visited london about a month ago to delegation from the nypd. we met with commission hall and a whole host of other officials and gave us a very comprehensive brief. and i think they've done an excellent job. i believe things will go well. but as was said in your setup piece, you can't predict everything.

so, you know, i think you have to prepare for the worst. perhaps multiple events are something that would really test the system. but i think they've done everything they've reasonably can do to protect the games and protect the city of london. >> is a part of this a show of force? as opposed to necessarily having everything covered? just so that someone looks at it and all they see are police and planes flying overhead. so is part of it just to show that you're there? >> oh, sure. you know, it's all about deterrence. it's all about prevention. and presence is what's going to do a large part of that. also there are things of course that the public won't see. we met with mi-5, they have a very comprehensive and thorough program as well. so, yes, it's a little bit of a show, but it really is, i think, tremendous substance here as well. >> let me turn your attention to aurora, colorado, and the things that are happening in the wake

of it. just today in prince george's county, maryland, i don't know if you're familiar with it, it's right outside d.c., police arrested a man who had quite a big arsenal with him. he said i'm a joker and i'm going to load my guns and blow everyone up. in the wake of something that got as much publicity as aurora did, did as much damage as aurora did, how big a concern are these copycats? >> well, they are a concern. and one of the things we did in new york was to post uniform officers at all 40 theaters showing the movie. but copycats are something that we'll see -- at least people will claim the possibility of it after high profile events. it is unfortunately sort of standard fair. and this individual was apparently going to lose his job or threaten to lose his job. and you'll see these sort of threats surface in those types

of situations. it's unfortunate, but it's a fact of life in law enforcement. >> when is the call made to -- and you're right, new york went out to all the theaters around, show of force again in protecting those in the wake of aurora, but at some point that's not where you should be putting your officers, is it? when do you make that call? >> well, we look at it on a day-to-day basis. we have to make these assessments everyday as to where we put our resources. we look at a variety of things. if there's any intelligence information, we know that the movie is extremely popular. we know it sold out now at least up until today. so we're going to keep our resources in place for this weekend. we'll make judgments as we enter next week. >> in some ways is there anything to be post-aurora other than reactive? because certainly there are lots of soft targets that these lone

gunmen can go to other than theaters. so understand the need to go to those theaters because obviously they're copycats, that would be in their head. but aren't there so many other soft targets that it's nearly impossible through mere police presence to stop this kind of thing? >> well, that's true. i do want to say that the aurora police responded very well. they were there quickly. that's one of the basic tenants now we follow when we have active shooter situation. but an event like this, it's just extremely difficult to prevent when you have over a minimum of the 200 million guns in the united states, you have a population of over 300 million people, a percentage of which are going to be unbalanced and certainly mentally challenged. these events unfortunately are inevitable. you do what you can to identify individuals, which was done in

maryland. but obviously this person, james holmes, was just not on anybody's radar screen. he got his guns through the normal process. now, you might say hindsight is 20/20 when i look at somebody amass 6,000 rounds of ammunition. maybe going forward that would arouse suspicions with the ammunition suppliers and they would call a law enforcement entity. we have an operation in new york where we go out and meet with a variety of businesses to just put them on alert. ask them if they see anything of a suspicious nature to call us. but we actually physically visit these types of businesses. so perhaps that's the type of program that may be effective in other areas. hopefully it's effective in new york right now. >> let me ask you about a particular law in new york city right now stop and frisk. you know detractors of it have said that police unfairly target

minorities, blacks and latinos. police say, look, it helps us keep the city safe. the aclu says you're eroding trust when you do these sort of stop and frisks with folks who may just go out and buy a gun because they no longer trust the police. do you worry about that? and do you see a way that the practice could be changed that might address some of these concerns? >> sure we worry about it. but i want to tell you that it is a tool. it is a life-saving tool. new york city has the lowest murder rate of any major city in america. we're very proud of that. i think it's a product of pro-active policing. and stop and question and sometimes frisk is one of the tools we use. every police jurisdiction in america it goes way back to common law. we can understand that people don't like to be stopped. don't like to at the very least lose their time. but we think it is effective. and we see, you know, in every

city in america certainly every major city we still see so many young people with access to guns. and that's who's getting killed on the streets of our cities. young people. usually young people of color, quite frankly. we think our tactics and strategies are working. stop, question and frisk is not the be all and end all by any means. >> right. >> we do many other things. we're working to make certain to treat them with curtesy, dignity and respect. >> new york city police kmigszer ray kelly, thank you for your time today. >> thank you. we're learning new details about multiple tornadoes. plus, a house on the edge of disaster moving closer to the brink with every passing hour. you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list at's a few names longer. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank

are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you, around the country, around the corner. us bank. one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state.

one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. sometimes, i can't believe the things i'm able to do. without shriners hospitals, my life would be completely different. when i was seven, we found out i had scoliosis. everything changed when they stepped in. it was like they gave me my future back. tori's life is one of nearly a million changed by donations from people like you. send your love to the rescue. donate today.

the country's latest outbreak of severe storms left at least three people dead and tens of thousands without power in pennsylvania and new york state. meteorologi meteorologist alex andrea steel is in the center. this is a deadly series of storms we've had. >> the derecho now once again we've seen one. what we saw yesterday beginning about 2:00 a serial derecho, a widespread damaging wind storm. i want to show you this is radar yesterday at 2:00. now, watch this line. here it is from detroit. it really went from ohio all the way to new york city, kind of held together for 400 miles. so an incredibly potent one. and you can see this is where it was. now, the northern tip of this kind of the northern line really

had the most ferocious winds and impact. we now have three reports of tornadoes, national weather service went out and assessed the damage today. two in pennsylvania, one in new york. it was right here along the new york state/pennsylvania border. one an ef-1, 110 miles per hour and it was the first tornado reported in 2012 this year in new york state. it was on the ground for ten miles. the second an ef-1 near montross, pennsylvania. you can see incredible amount of damage reports. it went 400 miles and we had at least 300 severe weather reports with it. this is the current radar picture. today, certainly not the severity of what we saw yesterday. the ingredients kind of still in place. this is a new cold front coming in. moisture still in the atmosphere. now we have two severe thunderstorm watch boxes. one for ohio. so it's really ohio, tennessee valley and in virginia posted

through 11:00 and 10:00 tonight. so the biggest threats today, isolated tornado perhaps, but from cincinnati including washington, norfolk, raleigh, damaging winds and hail. those are really the biggest pictures with this. candy. >> so while we see all the storms in the northeast, basically the rest of the nation's just in severe drought at the very least. >> oh, that's right. absolutely. the worst drought kind of historic no doubt about it. we saw an inch or two inches with some of the locally heavy downpours. but certainly few and far between. this is the current drought map. really the colors to be mindful of, these orange and especially these dark exceptional orange. we've talked so much about indiana. of course the corn and the soybeans. you can see in indiana look where we are in terms of where we were last year and how bad it's been. and take a look. this darkest red now really with the latest drought picture has gotten more severe. almost 20% of the state in this

exceptional drought. and looking, candy, at the forecast, hot, dry weather conditions continuing and little rain as well. so not a lot of pattern change. >> like i said, crazy weather. thanks so much. appreciate it. you're welcome. ahead in the 5:00 p.m. eastern hour, a report from an important syrian city that's become a ghost town amid reports of a new massacre. uhuh yep uch let's find you a room. at hotels.com, you'll always find the perfect hotel. because we only do hotels. wow. i like that. nice no. laugh... awe uch ooh, yeah hmm nice huh book it! oh boy call me... this summer, we're finding you the perfect place - plus giving you up to $100 at hotels.com

that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and save you up to thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. call today to request a free decision guide to help you better understand what medicare is all about. and which aarp medicare supplement plan works best for you. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit

any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist. there's a range of plans to choose from, too. and they all travel with you. anywhere in the country. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. call today. remember, medicare supplement insurance helps cover some of what medicare doesn't pay -- expenses that could really add up. these kinds of plans could save you up to thousands in out-of-pocket costs... you'll be able choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. and you never need referrals. so don't wait. with all the good years ahead,

look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions, and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. ...we inspected his brakes for free. free is good. free is very good. my money. my choice. my meineke. it's the latest smartphone craze getting people around town, but not everyone's happy about it. here's dan simon in san francisco. >> reporter: candy, a san francisco technology company called ubar is altering the transportation industry with its innovative way to get a ride. we spoke with the company's ceo about the growing phenomenon and

the controversy it's generated in the nation's capital. with one touch of the screen you can get a car to pick you up. it's called uber, a smartphone app fundamentally changing how people get around. the price 50% to 70% more than a regular taxi. a price many are happily willing to pay. no cash needed. no tip. and you are billed automatically. >> it's a really elegant experience, right? you push a button on your iphone or your android device or even sms and in five minutes a town car arrives. doors open for you and you get in the car. >> reporter: travis is the tech wizard who dreamed up the concept. uber doesn't own the cars, it works with existing limo companies and gets a cut of the proceeds. did you ever think you would be running a car service? >> absolutely not. it was for me, my co-founder and our hundred friends to be able to push a button and an s-class mercedes rolls up.

that was it. but everybody wanted it. >> reporter: cnn covered uber shortly after it launched two years ago. back then it was only in san francisco. and quickly gained a following. now it's in 13 cities including the nation's capital where uber was an instant hit. >> uber is fantastic, efficient, affordable. >> nancy pelosi referred to, uber as a magic carpet ride. >> reporter: but technology and d.c. politics have met a serious clash. washington is a taxi town. and the drivers feel threatened. >> the guy that owns uber lives in san francisco, california. >> it's going to cost me money, number one. number two, i feel like i'm going to lose my job. >> reporter: the powerful taxi cab lobby got the city council two weeks ago to consider a measure that would have forced uber to set the minimum fare for a ride five times higher than that of taxis. consumers went ballistic. >> i've received over 5,000 e-mails from people who use this

service. >> reporter: the council backed down and will let uber stay the way it is at least until december. but the controversy exposed an ageold problem. technology advances don't benefit everyone. should consumers be forced to pay a price so the earnings of some workers won't be adversely affected? in d.c. the answer for now is a resounding no. as this technology becomes more pervasive, it's likely to impact other industries. case and point, another san francisco company called cherry, it offers on-demand car washes, the car wash comes to you. probably not great for the traditional car wash business but an added convenience for consumers. candy. you're in "the situation room." happening now, reports of a horrific massacre in syria's largest city. cnn's inside syria as rebels brace for what could be the ultimate showdown against the country's embattled president. plus, new signs iran may be stepping up its military

capabilities to take on u.s. warships in the persian gulf. just how concerned should americans be? and a home on the brink of falling hundreds of feet over a cliff. ahead, the amazing video of its yard literally disappearing before our eyes. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. wolf blitzer is on assignment. i'm candy crowley. and you're in "the situation room." it's being called the mother of all battles, rebels and government forces are converging on syria's largest and most important city for potential showdown that could ultimately determine the fate of embattled president bashar al assad. we're getting reports of a horrific massacre in one part of aleppo as other parts are

purportedly being bombarded by mortars, tanks and helicopter gunships. the death toll across the country at least 100 people just today. many of them believed to be from that one blistering attack. cnn's ivan watson is in northern syria. >> reporter: we're here on the outskirts of aleppo on the main highway running in. and the signs of war are everywhere. i mean, look at the shopping mall that's been damaged. it had an international brand here. and it's pot marked with bullets and the windows have been shattered. lots of the neighborhoods around here completely deserted with the exception of rebel fighters. the rebels we've talked to, the bulk of their fighting brigade are inside that city right now hunkered down and awaiting a siege, a syrian government onslaught. the rebel commanders we've talked to say they've set up field clinics, medical clinics inside the city as well as informal ambulance services so

they can treat their wounded. they're anticipating a major assault from syrian security forces, airplanes, tanks, artillery as well. one rebel commander we talked to from aleppo, he was an aleppo native, a stern man, when i asked him about what was going to happen there, he said it's probably going to end up looking like homs. of course he's referring to that other syrian city. pick up a tissue and sit down and quietly weep as if the realization that this city that is his hometown would be destroyed had suddenly set in. ivan watson, cnn on the outskirts of aleppo. >> ivan joins us now. ivan, tell me what's happening

where you are. >> reporter: well, we've been traveling around northern syria around the city of aleppo. you hear the periodic sounds of gunfire and heavy artillery exploding. skirmishes between syrian government forces that are holed up for the most part in che checkpoints and the rebels do seem to control the surrounding countryside. we drove for hours today, candy. and of course we were evading these government checkpoints. but you see no presence of the syrian government for hours driving around the syrian countryside. that gives you a sense of how much the government has lost control over its own territory and how much popular support there really is for the uprising, candy. >> ivan, can you give us the importance of aleppo? give us some sense of why this has come down to this battle it

seems. >> reporter: it's the commercial capital of the country, the industrial hub of the country. and it's widely believed that if the government loses control of aleppo, it can't continue even pretending to be a government anymore. it can't really pretend to run the country anymore. the rebels made a surge into damascus last week that seems to have been beaten back. the government has not succeeded in beating back the rebels from aleppo as easily. i'm not sure exactly why that is whether there's perhaps more popular support in aleppo, whether the government security forces are weaker there or perhaps whether the rebels have just been able to prepare better for this battle and hunker down more sending in more forces and weaponry as well. one commander i did talk to, i asked him, do you have enough ammunition to withstand a government siege? and he quickly answered, no. that may be one of the critical weaknesses of what the rebels

are trying to do there right now. >> ivan watson out of syria tonight. we know you'll be careful. thanks, ivan. alarming signs that iran may again be flexing its military muscle in the face of the united states. "the washington post" reports today the country is gaining new capabilities to strike at u.s. warships in the persian gulf. it cites officials who say the new systems are boosting iran's confidence that could quickly damage or destroy u.s. ships if hostilities erupt. cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr is working that story that we'll get to in a second. first, barbara, you're getting some new information just now on u.s. strategy concerning syria. >> indeed, candy. i've just spoken to a senior u.s. official who confirms to us that the u.s. as well as some of the allies, but the u.s. has stepped up its contacts with the opposition forces in recent weeks. and this u.s. official says also the u.s. is playing what he calls more of an advisory role

with the opposition. this may begin to point the way towards how the opposition is making at least some of the gains that it appears to be making. the official says more vetting of opposition forces, more advising them how to achieve their goals more quickly. by all accounts the at least over u.s. effort still falls short of arming the opposition, no arms coming from the united states government, at least of course not officially. but certainly stepping up contacts with them. the key question on the table, candy, though is, what happens if assad falls to this syrian military, the syrian government structure? will it hold? does the u.s. want it to hold? you remember all about iraq when the army collapsed. >> barbara, if i could take advantage of your expertise and turn back to iran. it sounds from those reports out of "the washington post" that the u.s. navy may be a sitting duck or at least iran has an interest in making it seem so.

>> well, indeed. that "the washington post" story really laid out the potential vulnerabilities of the u.s. navy to attack iran in the gulf. but how vulnerable is the navy? let's have a bit of a reality check here on both sides of it. you know, the navy sends aircraft carriers into the persian gulf all the time. huge, huge ships. but they are not defenseless by any means. i wanted to run people through some of the things that these carriers have on board. sea spare row anti-aircraft and anti-missile capability to be able to counter any iranian missiles coming at them. the fhalanx, that's a radar guided gun that can shoot at small iranian boats coming at them. another missile system called the rolling airframe. it can attack anti-ship cruise missiles. and secondly, of course, the navy also has cruisers, destroyers, equipped with radars

that can see 360 degrees around them. submarines, small ships, minesweepers, there's a lot of capability, there is lot of concern of the iranians though. they are making advances. >> barbara starr, appreciate it. the next stop on mitt romney's world tour, israel. the trip may help win support from jewish voters for mitt romney, but christians as well. cnn's tom foreman joins us now with more. >> yeah, candy, this is interesting. chess is a popular game in israel. this is one of those moves that would both attack the president's base and buildup mitt romney's if it turns out right. mitt romney's trip to israel this weekend is unmistakably aimed at a traditional democratic voting block. as a group jewish americans are politically active in fund raising, campaigning and voting.

>> i think mitt romney's going to israel certainly to court the jewish vote. >> reporter: a professor at dartmouth and author of "god in the white house" says romney may have an even bigger prize in mind. >> i think more important the constituency he wants to impress is the evangelicals. people who have an unequivocal support for israel. and this is the constituency that was quite suspicious of him in the course of the primaries. and in many ways he hasn't fully won them over. >> reporter: countless christian evangelicals are indeed staunch supporters of israel citing a biblical kinship. a force in many years for many republican contenders to visit the holy land and speak out for israeli rights. >> israel is our friend. >> the american and israeli connection will grow and strengthen. >> reporter: once more the group christians united for israel

with more than a million members whose leadership is politically conservative says president obama has further strained america's sometimes tense relationship with israel. >> my name is david -- >> reporter: david brag is that group's executive director. >> american christians, americans in general are going to want to see governor romney treat israel and treat prime minister netanyahu with the respect and appreciation that many of us feel has not been present, has been lacking in the current administration. >> reporter: some evangelicals believe there must be a mass convergence of the world's jews in the holy land before christ can come again. therefore protecting israel's stability is key. many other christians and jews see that as a radical interpretation of scripture and @ soundly dismissed by brog. >> this is simply one of those urban myths. >> still all of this adds up to as we said at the start, a dual

attack in many ways. a way for mitt romney to go after the jewish support for president obama and to reach out to those evan jell cagelicals o may be a million or more in that one group but have influence in many, many churches out there and help get them past the things that have hung them up on mitt romney, the fact he's a mormon, the fact he hasn't spoken out quite as loudly on some issues. this may be a bit of a trump card because those groups have been looking for a really strong voice of support for israel. and they may find it in mitt romney depending on how he acts. >> might bring them into their comfort zone. >> could certainly do that. >> thanks so much, tom foreman. good to see you. wolf blitzer is traveling to israel for an extensive interview with mitt romney. you can see it all right here in "the situation room" monday. a 14-year-old girl bullied all her life for her appearance undergoes free plastic surgery. and our own dr. sanjay gupta is there for the transformation. you're going to see it just ahead. plus, if republicans believe

voters should trust mitt romney over president obama on the economy, then why isn't he doing better in the polls? i'll ask the former republican presidential candidate, newt gingrich. yes it's true. how is this possible? proper tire inflation, by using proper grades of oil, your car runs more efficiently, saves gas. you could be doing this right now? yes i could, mike. i'm slowing you down? yes you are. my bad. the works fuel saver package. just $29.95 or less after rebate. only at your ford dealer. so, to sum up, you take care of that, you take care of these, you save a bunch of this. that works. [romney singing]: oh beautiful, for spacious skies, i'm barack obama and i approve this message. for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee,

and crowned thy good, with brotherhood... mid grade dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs g of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover. one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas.

it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness... man: great job. where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us, it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you move on with your life. so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. looks really good. call... or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you

find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? mitt romney's going to israel tomorrow undoubtedly hoping for better headlines than his trip to the olympics produced. and we already know that team obama is watching. our cnn chief political analyst, gloria borger, is here. gloria, london is nice and the olympics are there. but in terms of sheer politics, israel's more important. >> i think it's more important. and i think the romney campaign wants a better trip than they had in london, wouldn't you say? because that didn't exactly -- >> the bar's not high. >> that didn't go exactly the way they had planned. so going to israel is really part of the process that presidential candidates go through when they have to prove their foreign policy credentials. barack obama went through this when he did his tour in july of 2008, actually. and foreign policy, mitt romney

is really behind president obama in all the polls. it's a way going to israel in particular is a way to contrast with president obama, who has not been to israel since he took the oath of office. and mitt romney's also clearly interested in pointing out that he's a better friend to israel, that he would be tougher on syria. that he would be tougher on iran. and i believe he'll probably get a better reception in israel than he had in london. >> so this is always kind of -- this is a little tricky for candidates, as mitt romney said, they didn't want him over there criticizing the president, yet he has to sort of show differences here. did an interview with an israeli newspaper. how did he couch those? >> very carefully. he sort of backed into his criticism of president obama because he would not -- he said, you know, i'm abroad and i don't want to criticize the president while i'm abroad. but here's what he said. i'm afraid of any discussion of

settlements -- a question of israeli settlements stopping would lead me into waters showing difference from the president, that would be inappropriate for me to do on foreign soil. >> suffice to say -- >> yeah. this question of israeli settlements has been a big point on contention with the president and american jews in particular. so that was a way of backing into the criticism. but when he did an interview on american soil with an israeli newspaper, he was quite critical of the president. but he did it in this country and not abroad. >> time and place. >> exactly. >> i've been fascinated by how much attention team obama seems to be paying to this trip. >> a lot of attention. first of all, the london part they're absolutely gleeful about it. and tweeting up a storm about it. but in terms of the israel trip, you know, there's a question of counterprogramming. how do you counterprogram it so you will not be surprised to

know that the president had an oval office bill signing today. and it was the u.s./israel enhanced security cooperation act. this is something passed by the congress last week, but he signed it today. and it's a noncontroversial measure which essentially restates the united states' commitment to supplying arms to israel. also the president promised another $70 million for something called iron dome. and that's a program to bolster israeli security against aggressors. so there you have it. not a coincidence. >> no. told jessica yellin earlier, good to be president during election years. >> it is. that bully pulpit comes in handy. >> it does. thanks so much, gloria borger, appreciate it. nearly half a million fords are being recalled flt we'll tell you what model and the scary reason why in just a minute. also, a new medical study will give you ammunition for trying to argue your way off the late shift. you're in "the situation room."

transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. maybe even a little better. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. visit seemoresights.com for your chance to win the ultimate sightseeing dream vacation and more great prizes. brought to you by transitions lenses, the official sponsor of sightseeing. i have to know the weather patterns. i upgraded to the new sprint direct connect. so i can get three times the coverage. [ chirp ] [ manager 2 ] it's like working in a giant sandbox with all these huge toys. and with the fastest push-to-talk... i can keep track of them all. [ chirp ] [ chirp ] [ male announcer ] upgrade to the new "done."

with access to the fastest push-to-talk and three times the coverage. now when you buy one kyocera duracore rugged phone, for $49.99, you'll get four free. visit a sprint store, or call 855-878-4biz. [ chirp ]

we're continuing to get images into "the situation room" from the london olympics opening ceremonies. what you are seeing here as we were told earlier by a reporter is london sort of walking through the history of britain. for some time you're seeing there as night has fallen, past 10:00, we believe this is probably a reference to world war ii. london telling the history of the british. we are expecting to also find out who is lighting the olympic torch before we get off the air. you don't have to wait until later tonight. we'll have it for you as soon as it happens. mary snow is monitoring some of the other top stories in "the

situation room" right now. mary, another car company is dealing with vehicles accelerating on their own. >> yeah, candy. that company is ford. it's recalling 485,000 escape crossover suvs around the world because of a problem that could cause the vehicle to speed up on its own. the company says the cruise control cable can get stuck even if the driver isn't using cruise control. the recall is for 2001 through 2004 v-6 models with cruise control. working the second or third shift can be tough enough. but now a study of 2 million workers shows those on the night shift are more at risk for heart attack or stroke than day workers. the research in the british medical journal finds that shift workers should be screened for risk factors as they are more prone to have poor sleep and nutrition. and one of hollywood's most recognized latina actresses has died at the age of 69.

the actress once said she made a career in tv and film playing the maid appearing as more than 150 times. in so many roles, candy, it's really a loss. >> that's a familiar face. thanks so much, mary snow. >> sure. the obama administration's just released a surprisingly upbeat report about the economy. coming up, what do they see that others do not? we'll ask former house speaker newt gingrich and former labor secretary. and later a girl bullied because of how she looked. see what she looks like now and who helped her.

♪ what started as a whisper every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

[ male announcer ] if you think even the best bed can only lie there... ask me what it's like when my tempur-pedic moves. [ male announcer ] ...talk to someone who owns an adjustable version of the most highly recommended bed in america. ask me about my tempur advanced ergo.

ask me about having all the right moves. [ male announcer ] these are real tempur advanced ergo owners. find one for yourself. check out twitter. try your friends on facebook. see what they have to say unedited. goes up. goes up. ask me what it's like to get a massage anytime you want. goes down. goes down. ergonomics. ergonomics. [ male announcer ] tempur-pedic brand owners are more satisfied than owners of any traditional mattress brand. [ woman ] ask me why i'm glad i didn't wait till i'm too old to enjoy this. [ male announcer ] start asking real owners. ask me how to make your first move. ♪ [ male announcer ] find out more about the tempur advanced ergo system. ♪ tempurpedic. the most highly recommended bed in america.

another blow for the economy today. the commerce department reports a significant slowdown in growth due in part to weak consumer spending. it's giving republicans a new line of attack on the campaign trail. joining us to talk about it, former house speaker newt gingrich, author of the book "no taxation by misrepresentation." also joining us robert reich, he's a professor at the university of california berkeley and the author of the book "beyond outrage." gentlemen, thank you to you both. secretary rice, we're going to put up a chart that shows gdp from the first quarter of last year to now. and it is a roller coaster. it went from .1 to 2.5 back to 4.1 down to 2 -- what is going

on here? >> candy, it is a roller coaster ride. in a way things are not nearly as bad as they could be if we didn't have europe and the european debt crisis to worry about. china's growth, we're not slowing. but this is bad. i mean, there's no way of dressing it up. there are some silver linings here, housing prices seem to have rebounded somewhat. but there is a big drag on the economy. one of the biggest drags on the economy and i would love newt gingrich to comment about this which is government spending which is way, way down particularly at the state and local levels. >> see, i don't have to ask the questions. go ahead, mr. speaker. >> as usual, secretary reich has launched straight into the differences i guess. look, i think that the attitude the president communicated when he said you didn't build that tells you a lot about what's going on. the fact is there's some potentially great news out there. if you look at what's happening with energy in places like north dakota, western pennsylvania,

eastern ohio, there's a very exciting possibility that america could be basically independent, that north america as a continent could literally produce all of its own energy bringing down the cost for manufacturing, et cetera. all of this is being slowed down by the obama administration. and i do, secretary reich, when you add in the very real dangers in europe where there's a very big possibility that we're going to see further economic decay in the next two or three months, there's a report out today that greece, for example, may run out of money by august 20th. the most sobering thing i've seen this week is a report on -- this will sound kind of strange, but the amount of waste that is shipped by railroads is one of the highest correlations of what happens to the general economy. when the amount of waste being shipped goes up, the economy's booming. when the amount of waste goes down, the economy's shifting towards a recession. right now the amount of waste is going down. >> yeah. >> and that really bodes badly

for obama for the next three months. >> secretary reich, i know you started the conversation saying about the cutbacks in government and that kind of thing that may, i think in your belief, be leading to some of the problem with the gdp. but republicans are now making the argument on the tax side. and they're saying, listen, when president obama agreed to extend the bush tax cuts in 2010, he said the economy was too weak to not have them. it was 2.4% gdp. now it's less than that. can't you now also argue that the economy's too weak to start cutting taxes -- i mean start raising taxes for anyone? >> well, candy, i think that what the president has said is absolutely right. what we need is a continuation of the middle class tax cut. everybody should have a bush tax cut -- a continuation of the tax cut on the first $250,000 -- but on the first $250,000 of their income. there's absolutely no reason given that huge budget deficit

in the years to provide an additional tax cut on incomes over $250,000. i mean even rich people are going to get a bush tax cut on the first $250,000 of their income. this is not a kind of class warfare. all the president is saying is, hey, guys, you there wealthier than everybody else, you have some responsibility visa vee budget deficit in the future and going back to the clinton tax is not so awful. as i remember it and i may be bias because i was a member of the clinton administration, the economy was pretty good under those clinton tax rates. >> mr. speaker, if i could -- let me just shift you slightly. >> all right. >> and ask you, speaker boehner has said, listen, this election coming up is not really about romney. it's a referendum on president obama and how the economy is faring. but when you look at the polls, these two men remain statistically tied even though

consumer confidence is completely lousy. sometimes president obama is slightly ahead. he leads on who can best handle -- romney leads on who can best handle the economy. but when you ask about who's protecting the middle class, it's always president obama. how does mitt romney get out of the template that he is for the rich and the president is for the middle class? is there any way to do that? >> well, i think first of all the pushing as hard as you can on jobs and on the economy, emphasizing the importance of small business, the number one thing the middle class needs is jobs. the fact is if you don't have jobs, you're not going to have a middle class. i think the jobs issue as robert may remember from his former boss's first campaign in 1992 when carville had that sign "it's the economy stupid" i think jobs are the center of this campaign. but where i disagree with secretary reich as a practical matter, the europeans are trying socialist austerity. that's where you punish people in the private sector to prop up

government. i think we do have deficits that are too big. my answer would be to cut government spending, not to raise taxes. and people have to decide at a fundamental level, do you think this is a country in which we are under taxed or overspent? because you get very different answers to what kind of a budget you want based on how you answer that question. >> speaker gingrich, secretary reich, i know both of you have many more points to make. i hope you will come back and join us another day. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> thanks, candy. starting this morning after -- starting the morning after the colorado theater shootings the alleged gunman's university insisted nobody had a clue about his behavior. coming in our new 6:00 p.m. eastern hour, why that claim now is being questioned. and later, a family whose backyard is going downhill in a hurry. will their home be next? and how did they get in the situation in the first place? ey. but today...( sfx: loud noise of large metal object hitting the ground) things have been a little strange.

(sfx: sound of piano smashing) roadrunner: meep meep. meep meep? (sfx: loud thud sound) what a strange place. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. [romney singing]: oh beautiful, for spacious skies, i'm barack obama and i approve this message. for amber waves of grain,

for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee, and crowned thy good, with brotherhood... trick question. i love everything about this country! including prilosec otc. you know one pill each morning treats your frequent heartburn so you can enjoy all this great land of ours has to offer like demolition derbies. and drive thru weddings. so if you're one of those people who gets heartburn and then treats day after day, block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place. [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

growing up a victim of bullying can be traumatic for any child, especially if it's brought on by physical attributes that can't be changed. one nonprofit organization is trying to change that offering free plastic surgery to some of these victims. cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta spent time with one patient and was there for her transformation. >> reporter: it's a parent's nightmare. >> i used to be very talkative when i was a kid. now i'm just shy and rather not talk to anyone. i'm anti-social now. >> reporter: children viciously bullied for their physical appearance. for this 14-year-old, the bullying started in first grade.

>> there was this girl, she came up to me and says you have the biggest ears i've ever seen. i'm like, well -- i was speechless because i didn't think about it until she said that. >> reporter: she's heard dumbo, elephant ears and much, much worse. seven years of torment, still withdrawn, still hard to talk about. do you remember the worst sort of taunting or teasing or, you know, whatever -- do you remember a day where that happened? >> it happened a lot -- well, it happened so many times that it kind of all blends together that i kind of don't remember. >> reporter: nadia was just 10 years old when she asked her mom to have surgery to pin her ears back. she wanted them to stick out less. all in an effort to stop the bullying. >> it's been sort of a dark place for you.

>> it's been depressing. >> reporter: her mom desperate to help searched the internet and stumbled across a nonprofit organization that offers free plastic surgery for children like nadia bullied because of their physical appearance and can't afford an operation. >> there may be people who say you don't need to do this. this is just who you are. it's the way you were born. people should love people for who they are. what do you say to those folks? >> i say that they're right, but they'll never stop. they'll just keep going. get worse and worse. >> reporter: the foundation flew nadia and her mother from georgia to new york city for an all-expense paid trip. >> this will be our target ear and match the other ear, which is not as lateralized as this ear. >> reporter: in her application, nadia asked to have her ears pinned back. but dr. thomas romo with the baby face organization recommended she change more than

just her ears. >> i love shin chins. but i don't want them as pointy as that chin. we talked about that, didn't we? >> uh-huh. >> we looked at some pictures of different people. >> uh-huh. >> and their chins come up just a little more square. so that's exactly what we're going to do too. >> reporter: and there was more. >> when i looked up inside her, the whole septum is going off this way. as the septum goes, so goes the nose. >> reporter: she never talked about the nose or chin before. >> she did not. she didn't recognize that. >> reporter: dr. romo says with her ears pinned back, her nose and asymmetrical chin would be pronounced. he said all three surgeries combined are necessary to balance out nadia's features. >> any last thoughts as we go into the o.r. here? >> nervous, excited. >> reporter: so in some ways this has been seven years in the making for nadia.

she just went under, but she tells me she's been dreaming about this day for some time. now it's all happening for her. so what dr. romo's doing is a reduction rhinoplasty reducing the size of the nose and a mento plasty. about 92% of this is done on people under the age of 18. this four-hour operation would normally come with a price tag of about $40,000. for nadia, it's free. here in the operating room when you see what's happening here behind me, gives you a good idea of how significant bullying can be. kids become depressed, anxious. and in nadia's case she told me it changed her entire personality. but surgery won't change the bullying. her mother hopes counselling will be the final step in the healing process.

72 hours post-op nadia is still swollen. cautiously optimistic as they remove the bandages and she sees herself for the first time. >> i look beautiful. really. exactly what i wanted. i love it. >> sanjay gupta's joining us now. i'm not sure how to react to this. she's clearly so happy with how she looks. that's great. i think people watching this will look at it and say, wait a second. that's pretty aggressive. now, this man is doing this for free. so we can't, you know, suggest that there's anything other than ultraistic motive here. that seems like a lot for a little girl that just wanted her ears fixed. >> yeah, you know, it's wildly controversial topic, as you might guess, candy. we've talked to several child

psychologists while investigating this piece. and i will tell you none of the child psychologists said i absolutely would not do this. the answer always seemed to be, well, there are certain situations where something like this may be warranted. look there, candy, the before and after. you saw her in the piece about 72 hours after her operation. this is just a couple of days ago now. a significant change. i asked her the same question, candy. i asked her any regrets? that seemed like a lot to go through. she said absolutely not. i will tell you just from a dad's standpoint when i first met her she was very withdrawn, quiet, you could see how hard it was to talk to her and she was very outgoing. now her personality changed just as she predicted that it would. so that's her particular story. >> yeah. thanks, sanjay gupta. what a great story. you all be sure to tune in for sanj sanjay's special airing tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 eastern and again sunday morning at 7:30 eastern right here on cnn.

michelle obama is leading the u.s. delegation to the olympic opening ceremonies. her day included a visit with the queen as well as an unusually personal pep talk for the u.s. olympic team. also ahead, a man's threat as he's getting fired gets him arrested too. find out what he's accused of saying. it's the priceline negotiator. >>what? >>sorry. he wants you to know about priceline's new express deals. it's a faster way to get a great hotel deal without bidding. pick one with a pool, a gym, a great guest rating. >>and save big. >>thanks negotiator. wherever you are. ya, no. he's over here. >>in the refrigerator?

opening ceremonies are underway for the london olympics. more than 100 heads of state and international dignitaries are on hand. here you are seeing some of the pictures. obviously nighttime there. very colorful. these are huge pageants, really. we are now just watching them unfold with these stills.

as cities stills as london opens with opening ceremonies. the past few days has been somewhat of a marathon for queen elizabeth. here is max foster. >> reporter: prime ministers from around the world arrived here at buckingham palace for the final leg of the build up to the london 2012 olympics. the presence of brazil, joined by jack roger of the ioc. representing the united states, of course, michelle obama arriving here, going outside to join a reception where she and heads of state and royalty from around the world enjoyed drinks. royalty, the duke and dutchess of cambridge, prince harry, many ways represented the games in terms of royalty as least. and the queen gave her last speech before officially opening

the olympic games. >> migrate grandfather opened the 1908 games at white city, my father opened the 1948 games at wembley stadium. later, i will take pleasure opening the 2012 london olympic games at stratford in the east of london. >> reporter: rarely have so many powerful people been in one place. a complete lockdown at buckingham palace, understandably so. but a positive mood now going into the olympics about going for gold and the heads of state are fully behind their teams and london is fully behind london. candy? >> as you heard, first lady michelle obama is leading the u.s. delegation to the olympics opening ceremony. in addition to the queen, her day included meet and greets with assorted british royals and emotional pep talk to the u.s. olympic team. >> some of my fondest memories

growing up and even as an adult for that matter involved watching the olympics on tv. i know each of you probably were in that position. i remember cheering on mary lou, nadia, carl lewis, so many others. i was just in awe of those athletes. my family, i remember we would sit together for hours watching these men and whimper form fetes of speed and grace that would have us cheering at the top of our lungs. my brother and i would dream about maybe one day if we worked hard enough, we might be able to achieve something just as great for ourselves. and the olympics was particularly powerful for my family for another reason, as some of you may know, my father contracted ms in the prime of his life.

in a matter of several years, he went from a man who was once a thriving competitor, he was a boxer, a swimmer throughout high school, and then he was stripped of all of his hopes, so he thought as an athlete. my father wasn't able to walk without the assistance of crutches, but he retained his love of sports, truly, and the olympics was a special time for him to watch amazing athletes of all abilities compete on the world stage. >> the first lady also led about 1,000 students and children of u.s. military personnel in some let's move exercises. coming in, new 6:00 p.m. eastern hour, new questions about a university's claim nobody had a clue about what's wrong with the graduate student who is now accused in the aurora, colorado theater shootings. but next, a house you'll be

glad isn't yours. why did the current owners move in there in the first place? [ manager 1 ] out here in the winds, i have to know the weather patterns. i upgraded to the new sprint direct connect. so i can get three times the coverage. [ chirp ] [ manager 2 ] it's like working in a giant sandbox with all these huge toys. and with the fastest push-to-talk... i can keep track of them all. [ chirp ] [ chirp ] [ male announcer ] upgrade to the new "done." with access to the fastest push-to-talk and three times the coverage. now when you buy one kyocera duracore rugged phone, for $49.99, you'll get four free. visit a sprint store, or call 855-878-4biz. [ chirp ]

i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral to see a specialist.

so don't wait. call now and request this free decision guide to help you better understand medicare... and which aarp medicare supplement plan might be best for you. there's a wide range to choose from. we love to travel -- and there's so much more to see. so we found a plan that can travel with us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is.

you have to take a look at this video near seattle, a home on the verge of falling hundreds of feet over a cliff as the front yard quickly disappears, breaking off in huge chunks. lisa sylvester has the details. >> candy, the homeowners told us they think they may lose their little green house by the end of the day. they could lose more, the garage, workshop, even the house and they're powerless to stop it. hour by hour, more of their yard is eroding away. >> look at this one.

>> reporter: bit by bit, their beautiful property at the top of a cliff is breaking off, plunging down a 200 foot ravine to the beach below. just over a week ago, they noticed the first chunks breaking off. >> oh, i said roy, the tree is gone! and it took part of the fence with it and everything went downhill from there. >> reporter: the culprit is apparently an underground water source that just appeared without warning. >> all of a sudden one day, just out of god's ornament, there was a gaiser coming out the side, shooting 20, 30 feet in the air. >> reporter: it cost them 50 feet of land, a 500-year-old tree and some flowers. >> we planted those. >> reporter: every day it is getting closer to their buildings. the property used to look like this. now the cliff edge has come right up to the out buildings,

including the greenhouse and roy's shop. >> i don't think it is going to get to the house. but it sure as hell is going to take over the shop, and that's my pride and joy. >> reporter: they cleared out the shop thursday, but there's nothing they can do about the underground propane tank that used to be 12 feet from the edge. now it is 12 inches, fire officials say. >> it could explode. a valve could bust off or the tank slides down the hill, innocently. don't know. >> reporter: so far, the erosion is moving at a steady pace. >> i don't know of any way to stop it. i think, you know, it was god that started it, god will have to stop it. >> reporter: no one knows whether the house they lived in together for 12 years will be next. >> we cry and we laugh and that's all we can do. it's devastating, absolutely devastating. >> reporter: so far, they're still living in the house. they say today started quiet,

then again, that's what they thought yesterday until evening came and they had another slide. candy? happening now. new information about the colorado shooting suspect and the psychiatrist he was seeing at the university of colorado. corporate billionaires do battle over same sex marriage. amazon ceo takes on the chick-fil-a chief. and pictures from opening ceremony before it airs. wolf is on assignment. i am candy crowley. you're in "the situation room." at this hour, we have new information about the suspect in the movie theater massacre, from james holmes' own defense team. and it is raising more questions about whether someone at university of colorado could have, should have, might have seen warning signs. drew griffin of cnn's special investigations unit has been digging on this story.

drew? >> according to his attorney, he is accused of gunning down 12, injuring dozens more, was seeing a psychiatrist at the time of the shooting. it is a huge development stemming from the mysterious package sent by james holmes to a professor at the university of colorado's aurora campus monday. according to a motion filed today in colorado, that professor was actually james holmes' psychiatrist. her name is dr. lynn fenton, head of student medical health services at the university of colorado's medical campus, and according to holmes' attorney, mr. holmes was a psychiatrist patient of dr. fenton and his communications with her are protected. that attorney is trying to get hold of the package, the contents of which according to cbs news, include a description of how holmes would kill people. the attorney says the information is privileged and confidential and should not be in the hands of police.

candy, you might remember monday, school officials, including the campus police chief did answer some questions. i want you to specifically listen to the exchange i had with the police chief regarding holmes' interaction with campus security. >> chief, did your department or any of your sisters have any interaction with this student whatsoever, have you done a records check? >> i don't have any information on him at all. >> no records check on him? >> yes. and as you already know, i think it was a traffic ticket from aurora. that's it for us, them, and everyone. >> nothing brought to your attention in any way of note or anything like that? >> we had no contact with him on a criminal matter whatsoever as a police department. >> reporter: candy, a spokesperson from the university yesterday told cnn the police chief at that news conference was with holding information based on gag orders that had been secured in this case. here is the quote from the school.

out of concern with violating the court order, the chief didn't answer my questions directly. now the question is what else the school and its police chief and administrators may have known about holmes in advance of the shooting. the fact he was seeking the help of a campus psychiatrist is only adding to the speculation, candy. we've asked the school for clarification. so far, the school refusing to answer any more questions. candy? >> you said, drew, as i understand it, right now is a legal maneuver by holmes' defense team saying wait a minute, he was seeing a shrink, and that package which was sent to her belongs to us. so they're trying to keep that evidence away from the prosecution. >> reporter: that is absolutely correct, and that is how we learned about this. it was a motion to basically get that stuff back. the attorney is saying, a public defender, saying that is private and privileged communication and shouldn't have been handed to

authorities which is what the school did. >> drew griffin, i know you'll keep on that story for us. thank you. we want to talk more about his communications with a university psychiatrist and the legal and ethical responsibilities that mental health officials have to report threats. we are talking to dr. sanjay gupta. sanjay, first we should say it is not always apparent how a patient presents themselves, can very often fool a very experienced psychiatrist. there's a famous case in d.c., a man who specialized in schizophrenia who ended up killing by one because he didn't see how dangerous the patient was. are there any legal rules that psychiatrists have to follow? >> there are legal rules, but as you're alluding to, candy, it is based on some subjective things, and you're talking about sort of the conflict between

doctor/patient confidentiality and protection of the public here. to put it simply, it really deals with how specific a patient is with his or her psychiatrist or psychologist. you know, are they specifically identifying a person and do they have a specific way that they want to harm that person, bodily injury, causing them death. is there a location they're talking about where they would do this. and is it imminent, of an urgent nature. if it meets those criteria, again, you can tell by listening it is subjective, appears enough to the psychiatrist, there's a duty to inform in most jurisdictions. there's another famous case in addition to the one you're talking about, a case in california, tarasoff. there were two parts. in tarasoff 1, most jurisdictions, there's a duty to warn the potential victim. tarasoff ii, they have a duty to

protect the victim, getting them to a secure facility. there's two parts to that. there is sort of a subjective nature to all of that, candy. >> and it is also true that specific threats are different from someone coming in and saying i'm so angry, i just feel like i'm going to do violence and some psychiatrist is going to hear that and not see a specific threat, i mean, having experienced this over the years, is there a penalty in the states that do have this duty to report law if a doctor does not report something that seems in hindsight to have been important? >> it doesn't appear to rise to the level of criminal penalties. i think the best way to sort of describe it is it could be a civil issue and could open the doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, whoever it may be, to potential lawsuits if they did not disclose this. i will tell you as well to your

question that typically the code of ethics on people that are counseling or treating the mentally ill is that they're supposed to disclose to their patient first that they're going to tell people, going to tell a potential victim and law enforcement, that's the way it is supposed to work, but you know, it doesn't usually rise to the level of criminal charge, maybe just lawsuits in a particular case. >> sanjay gupta, thanks for your insight. emphasize what we know from reporting from drew griffin is that in fact according to the defense team, this young man was seeing a psychiatrist, and that's at this point as much as we know about what went on there. thanks so much, dr. gupta. >> you got it. now to the battle for syria's second largest city, rebel forces report a horrific massacre in aleppo after the assad regime released tanks and helicopters this morning. the u.n. secretary general is pleading for the fighting to stop. at least 100 people were killed across syria today.

the opposition also says a syrian parliamentarian from aleppo defected to turkey, the latest of high level officials to flee that country. as the bloodshed gets worse, the united states is reaching out to the opposition. barbara starr has the latest. >> reaching out more every day, a senior u.s. official tells me the u.s. is stepping up its contacts with the opposition and in his words, playing more of an advisory role. what are we talking about here? well, this senior u.s. official says what's going on is they're talking to them more, vetting them more, trying to see what opposition groups could coalesce into some sort of more coherent force that can take over in syria, even talking about what defectors may know about what's going on inside of the country, all of it. the key question i think that comes to everybody's mind is is

this moving into the realm of arming the opposition? we talked awhile ago to chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. have a listen what he had to say. >> we have been discussing a range of options for some time, among them would be assisting the opposition. i have never heard of any discussion about assisting them with lethal support. that is to say, the discussions that i have been involved with were about providing nonlethal support. >> that's the big question many are looking at now. would the u.s. go the additional step of helping arm the opposition. by all accounts, not yet. but they are, candy, looking at what they can do to provide more assistance, more aid that will move this along, get assad out of power. once assad leaves, the next set of circumstances pop up quickly. will the syrian military and

government hold as an entity, as an organization. what would it look like, do you even want it to hold. these are all of the issues that defense secretary leon panetta will be dealing with when he travels to the middle east next week, and i'll be with him on that trip. >> looking forward to that. thank you. the head of amazon.com is writing a new chapter on chick-fil-a and its stand of same sex marriage. a clash of corporate titans. and a twist in the feud between michael jackson's mother and custody of his children. and we're giving you the very first look at the olympic opening ceremony before it airs on american tv. we will soon learn the biggest olympic secret, who gets the honor of lighting the olympic torch. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." [ mom ] dear chex cereal, i've never written a fan letter before, but you've done the impossible. you made gluten free cereals in a whole bunch of yummy flavors. cinnamon chex and honey nut chex are two of our favorites.

when my husband found the chocolate one, we were in cereal heaven. the only problem is, with so many great flavors, you're making it very hard to choose. your fans, the mcgregor family. 'cause we love chex. ♪ [ male announcer ] and now try new gluten free apple cinnamon chex.

new gluten free imimagaginine e ifif y yod alalwawaysys s seeee l e [m[mususicic]] inin t thehe b besest t lil. eveverery y titimeme o of f. ououtdtdoooorsrs, , oro.

trtranansisititiononss® ls auautotomamatiticacalllly y fift ththe e ririghght t amamouountn. soso y youou s seeee e eveg ththe e waway y itit is memeanant t toto b be e ses. mamaybybe e evevenen a lilittttlele b betette. exexpeperirienencece l lifife e, asask k fofor r trtrananss adadapaptitiveve l lene. we know the u.s. is getting

more politically divided. now it could start affecting where you eat and shop. mary snow, the founder of amazon.com getting into the same sex marriage debate. >> reporter: jeff bezos says it is a permanent decision. just as the issue of same sex marriage is thrust into the spotlight with protest targeting chick-fil-a, now comes a different public stand from the head of one of america's biggest brands, amazon ceo and his wife contributed $2.5 million to an effort to legalize same sex marriage in washington state. washington united for marriage, a coalition to uphold the same sex marriage law in the state, said it is believed to be the largest individual gift in the

country to secure or protect the freedom to marry. his views are in stark contrast to the president of chick-fil-a. when he said in interviews he opposed same sex marriage, repercussions followed. there are protests and calls for boycotts. even politicians weighed in. >> chick-fil-a's values are not chicago values. they're not respectful of our residents, our neighbors, and our family members. >> reporter: will amazon be targeted by opponents of same sex marriage? the national organization for marriage, a group fighting same sex marriage initiatives, had no immediate response. but it has previously targeted companies like starbucks, calling for a boycott after it voiced support for legalizing same sex marriage. he says while it is a public issue, he doesn't see much fallout for amazon.

>> for a brand like amazon, so ubiquitous, universal, i think there's less after risk. it is part of the fabric of our daily existence. >> reporter: as for chick-fil-a, the branding consultant we spoke with there, he says he believes the company largely based in the south will be able to move beyond the controversy and thinks it won't make a big dent to its bottom line. on a separate note, chick-fil-a announced that the company's chief spokesman died unexpectedly. don perry had been with chick-fil-a since 1993. >> mary snow, thank you. now that michael jackson's mother has surfaced, can her family stop feuding over custody of the children of the late pop star. you're in "the situation room." stay with us. you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer. you see us bank on busier highways.

on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you, around the country, around the corner. us bank.

the u.s. hadn't won gold in over 100 years. but thanks to them... and her... and especially this guy, all those years were just a prologue to this. ♪ it's amazing how far you can go with a little help along the way. td ameritrade. proud sponsor of the 2012 u.s. olympic team.

new developments today in the public family feud over michael jackson's estate and custody of the late pop star's three children. the drama has been unfolding for days after the family's 82-year-old mate rearch, katherine jackson, appeared to go missing. cnn entertainment correspondent core in winter joins us. there's a new custody agreement in effect? >> there is, we got a statement from katherine jackson's attorney that outlines a modified custody plan they would like to put in place that would essentially make katherine jackson and tj jackson co-guardians of his three children. prince, paris, and blanket. as we have been reporting, tj was appointed temporary

guardianship of the children wednesday this week, in his grandmother's absence. tj is a 34-year-old cousin to the kids. according to the attorney's statement, while he has been involved in caring for them quite some time, they say this is based on the wishes of katherine, tj and the children and they plan to submit this petition in l.a. early next week. seems like it is something that's going forward in a positive direction this week. >> that's a good way to end the week. there were some questions about the health of the grandmother, katherine jackson. do we know how she is doing? >> that's right. several of katherine's children thought she was overstressed, thought she needed a vacation so brought her here. other members of the family were unaware and reported her missing. when they finally were able to reach her over the phone, her speech seemed impaired and she didn't seem like herself at all. katherine has been reunited with her family in l.a. according to her attorney while

she's in great health, it seems like, candy, the new custody agreement in part is an effort to offer katherine some support, alleviate some of the stress she has been feeling lately. >> finally in a strange development, michael jackson's former doctor, conrad murray, saying he would like to meet with katherine? >> now this, candy, had a lot of heads shaking, let me tell you. i get the feeling this is the last thing katherine jackson wants to deal with. conrad murray, who was convicted in michael jackson's death, he is inviting katherine to meet him in jail. he released a statement through cnn and his attorneys saying i have been told she has a desire to speak with me before she departs this life. seeing she's up in age and in questionable health and the fact she's the mother of a very dear departed friend, it would give me great pleasure to sit with her one on one and answer any questions she might have. so essentially, candy, murray thinks a meeting between them would put katherine at peace.

after they have had the bitter public battles, this is probably not at the top of katherine's to do list i wouldn't think. >> to clarify, the two things don't have anything to do with one another. he didn't say hey, it would be great to have this meeting in connection with what went on this week with the jackson family. >> that's what makes it a little complicated. listen to this, candy. he saw, was watching the news which you are not allowed to behind bars. caught a clip of the chaos going on, said you know what, katherine looks sad. maybe one on one, a little one on one face-to-face meeting would make her feel better. don't know what's going through conrad's mind, that's what prompted this letter, invitation to katherine jackson. there you go, candy. >> good luck next week with all of that going on. thanks so much. president obama has a message for americans watching the olympics. will it help voters forget a

remark weighing on his campaign? and getting in brand new pictures of the opening ceremony before it is aired on tv. we expect to learn the honor of who gets to light the olympic torch. stay with us. i'm barack obama and i approve this message.

[romney singing]: oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee, and crowned thy good, with brotherhood... so what i'm saying is, people like options. when you take geico, you can call them anytime you feel like saving money. it don't matter, day or night. use your computer, your smartphone, your tablet, whatever. the point is, you have options.

oh, how convenient. hey. crab cakes, what are you looking at? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine

and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. with the idea of hybrid technology... it's already ingrained in our dna. during the golden opportunity sales event, get great values on some of our newest models. this is the pursuit of perfection. mixed messages on the economy with a setback in the recovery and new gains for the stock market. gross domestic product grew at

annual rate of 1.5% april through june, that is down from the first three months of the year. but better than analysts expected. on wall street, the dow-jones closed above 1300. traders are hoping the federal reserve will take new steps to stimulate growth. we are joined by byron jordan and former republican congressman, tom davis. you'll be happy to know, i won't ask you to explain why the stock market goes up when the news is all bad, but nonetheless, let me start with the gdp because it leads to politics. as you know, the republicans want this race to be about the state of the economy, democrats would like it to be the choice between mitt romney or me. how does the president go about explaining these kind of continuing bad numbers? >> well, bad numbers, i mean, we do have some economic growth, slower than everyone would like. again, go back to what the president took over. i mean, he inherited an economy

that the month before he showed up was shrinking, 700,000 people lost their job that month alone. >> do you think people were buying that, four years ago, it was horrible. there was a lot of talk how this would get fixed. >> i understand that. the fact is it was shrinking at almost 7% a year. now it has been growing. all of us would like it to grow more rapidly. there's a lot of things happening in europe and elsewhere that have an impact. this president has done an extraordinary job working hard to get a congress to work with him to address some of these issues. >> congressman davis, two things when i look at the polls, talked earlier with somebody about this, that is that generally as bad as the economy is, this is still a dead heat race. when you ask folks who might have better ideas to fix the economy, often they pick mitt romney. but when you ask them who has the interest of the middle class in mind, always president obama. how do you break out of that if

you're mitt romney. >> the administration has been plagued by bad outcomes. you can argue the right policies and this and that, low expectations, 8% unemployment almost three-and-a-half years, but that's not an automatic for the republicans. they're looking around and romney still needs to make the sale. as of today, he hasn't made the sale. look, he has a convention speech coming on, we've got debates. all the elements are there. a president has not been elected with unemployment higher than 7.2% since roosevelt. that's the marker. if it hovers around 8%, the bar gets lower for romney to meet, but he still has to make the sale. that's what obama camp is trying to keep him from doing. >> i want to play for y'all a little bit of an obama team ad that's going to play during the opening ceremony of the olympics this evening. >> we're a nation of workers, doers, dreamers. we work hard for what we get. all we ask for is that our hard

work pays off. i believe the way you grow the economy is from the middle up. i believe in fighting for the middle class because if they're prospering, all of us will prosper. >> it is the olympics, a big positive ad out there, we can understand that part. a lot of people listen to this ad, thought they heard some push back about what apparently may be hurting president obama, and that's the you didn't build this remark. do you see some signs there that the obama reelect team sees that as a negative? >> i don't think so. you didn't build this, i understand what he was saying about this. but this ad at the olympics, the olympics is a remarkably positive event. the demographics of who you would want to talk to about yourself, about what your aspirations are for the future. it makes sense for him to advertise here. i think this is also a time when all of us together take a look

at those folks wearing jerseys that say usa and kind of wish we had politicians that wore that in congress especially, both sides getting together to root for america, the old us of a. >> this is something that the romney camp has resonance, that somehow the president sort of showed his hand is how they're framing it. this is not a man who believes in the private sector, but believes that the generator of jobs and the economy is the public sector and that this fit into that. >> i think to the base that this resonates well, this race to a large part is mobilization, but it is a very closely divided country now, and that 10% that haven't made up their minds probably don't look at this until after labor day and the conventions. i think it makes sense at the time of the olympics where everybody is wearing the red, white and blue. >> i want to ask both you how

congress gets off the cliff. but first, to you, congressman, looking at mitt romney's trip overseas so far, grade him for me. >> incomplete. i am going to be generous. it was a tough first day. he is finding out in campaign mode, everything is parsed and so on, but i think the next two countries, he recovered, walked it back. >> mitt the twit and all the headlines we saw. >> flavor of the day. will have no bearing on the election. >> he'd probably like a do over, i think all of us understand that. >> he is going to israel. so next stop. exactly. let me ask you, we talked endlessly about the fiscal cliff that's coming. it is automatic spending cuts as well as tax increases that are going to go up, as well as tax increases as tax cuts expire. you put on your former congressional, senatorial hats,

how does it end? >> it crashes and burns before end of the year. looks like they're doing a six month continuing resolution, take the 12 appropriation bills -- >> so the government won't shut down. >> government won't shut down but hard to run with six month appropriation. agencies can't function not knowing what they get for the year. see with the election if they can decide decisively or not. the problem is there are no easy answers, no popular answers or congress would have done it. they're faced with stark choices that are unpopular. why decide before the election when they can put it off until after. >> look, the president and congress have to have straight talk to the american people. we can't allow the country to fall off the economic cliff at the end of the year. republicans and democrats have to come together to piece together what's wrong. this is not easy. >> former in front of you both, why you look happy and rested. thanks for joining us.

the woman leading mitt romney's search for a running mate may be tipping her hand on twitter or trying to create buzz. beth meyers tweeted this name today, all mentioned as possible vp picks, including the likely suspects, rob portman, john thune, and long shots like newt gingrich. it was an odd, intriguing post for a campaign tight lipped about the vp surge. i suppose they're having fun with this. romney's vp picks, one of many questions wolf blitzer will have for mitt romney. see that interview monday in "the situation room." we are seeing amazing pictures from the olympics opening ceremony, you don't have to wait for the replay. find out who is lighting the torch and see highlights from opening ceremony. an update next. stay with us, you're in "the situation room." [ mom ] dear chex cereal,

i've never written a fan letter before, but you've done the impossible. you made gluten free cereals in a whole bunch of yummy flavors. cinnamon chex and honey nut chex are two of our favorites. when my husband found the chocolate one, we were in cereal heaven. the only problem is, with so many great flavors, you're making it very hard to choose. your fans, the mcgregor family. 'cause we love chex. ♪ [ male announcer ] and now try new gluten free apple cinnamon chex. that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you.

so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they help save you up to thousands in out-of-pocket costs. call today to request a free decision guide. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide.

james bond, lord vold mortgage, mary poppins, all part of the british, on-going opening ceremonies for the summer games in london, but who is lighting the torch? you don't have to wait for the replay. cnn's alex thomas is live in london with highlights right now. alex? >> reporter: yeah, candy. i don't know if it is going to be critically aclaimed opening ceremonies, but as a brit, i loved it. they knew they couldn't match the theatrics of beijing four years ago, but movie director danny balance with a modest $40 million budget has still put on a pretty impressive display at the opening ceremony, meaning london 2012 is firmly under way.

all started 9:00 local time with the ringing of the world's largest har monday cli tuned bell. the first brit to win cycling, bradley wiggins struck it. then treated to a ride through britain's past, and one of the highlights of the night, a prerecorded sequence involving james bond actor daniel gray and her majesty. they got into helicopter to buckingham palace, then that appeared for life at the stadium. two people put it out with union flags. i don't know what happened to james bond after that. as we speak action some of the 204 national olympic association competing at the games are parading around the stadium in alphabetical order.

we have seen spain come through. the party isn't over yet. we still don't know, candy, who is going to light the olympic flame. >> i cannot believe you're leaving me hanging on this. i want that tweeted immediately when you have it. >> reporter: i promise, cross my heart. >> thank you very much. in the old endays, we had to wait for prime time place to see and hear about the olympics. this is the age of twitter and social media. everybody is sending in pictures and commentaries real time. tom foreman is watching. what are you seeing from opening ceremonies? >> my budget is considerably less than 40 million, but i have a great view. this is the u.s. team lining up, sent in by one of the members of the swimming team. team outside with the banner getting ready to go in. this is the flag bearer for the team, mariel zagunis. sending in lots of things. look at this group, my favorite picture so far.

do you know who this is? the u.s. men's basketball team. they will never look like this ever again on this planet! that's them all lined up here. here is don harper, gold medallist hurdler, seated with james harden, and you can see the athletes there, cooling out in their room, not at the ceremony, why? because they compete tomorrow morning, right there, michael phelps and nathan adrian, of the swimming team, watching like we do. my living is more posh than that. see how they do in the morning. beyond that, low a jones, checking security system. the athletes are doing a great job getting us in contact with what's going on. hope solo, in her way kind of the bad girl of the soccer team, hanging out there having a good time. see how the soccer ladies do as they move along. you have to look at the

competition, and jamaica's usain bolt, fastest man on the planet, hanging out with the fans. this one from kelly o'hara on the women's soccer team, took a picture up to a reflective ceiling of the team gathered there. that says it all. opening ceremonies, yeeee! looks like a great time. i wish i were there. would have such a good time. i am fast, i could have run something. >> yeah, well, okay. >> could have run for beers. >> one of the reasons i love twitter. sure, you get big beautiful overviews with tv, we love television, we should say, and the pictures are great, but you get such personal looks over twitter. >> this is the experience. this is what they're going through. funny, in some ways you think a lot are young americans. these are in many ways kids having a magnificent time. >> we want them to bring home

some gold. thanks, tom foreman. first lady michelle obama is on the run at the london olympics where she's leading the u.s. delegation at the opening ceremonies. she hosted a let's movie vent for american military children and british students enkurmging them to be active. had breakfast with members of team usa offering personal advice how to cope with the competition that happens every four years. >> you all take advantage of everything, stop, look around you. i know in my position, sometimes i don't get a chance to breathe or take it in. this only happens every few years. try and have fun. try to breathe a little bit. but also win, right? in the end, winning is good. >> have fun, breathe, win. back here in washington, the white house says president obama loves the olympics, plans to watch the games on tv as much as he can. we are told he may even watch the horse co-owned by ann romney

compete in dressage. and "home land" with nine emmy nominations. the creative team behind it shares their secrets. emmy nominations. the creative team behind it shares their secrets. cally filt. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. maybe even a little better. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. visit your local sam's club optical today to discover how authentic transitions brand lenses enhance your vision. sam's club. savings made simple home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance, where the costs to both repair your home and replace your possessions are covered.

and we don't just cut a check for the depreciated value -- we can actually replace your stuff with an exact or near match. plus, if your home is unfit to live in after an incident, we pay for you to stay somewhere else while it's being repaired. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance. because you never know what lies around the corner. to get a free quote, call... visit a local office, or go to libertymutual.com today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

a workplace shooting threat near washington with echos of the colorado theater massacre. cnn's erin burnett is going outfront on that tonight. what do you have? >> we are talk to go the chief of police of prince georges county with new details on the shooting. pretty shocking, the man intending so he said to go into the workplace where he was being

fired and shoot people, called himself the joker, police believe it could have been a copy cat event from the colorado shooting. the weapons, shocking. 25 guns, a lot of them automatic guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition. we're going to find out how someone could amass this amount of weaponry, an arsenal like this, going completely undetected, and considering, candy, he hadn't shot anybody yet, can they press charges or will this man go free. we get answers to those questions. plus the u.n. coming out and say there is going to be a humanitarian disaster in mali if there isn't funding. the funding shortage there is incredible, considering what we saw on the ground. we will have the latest on that. >> amazing stuff there, erin. we will be there top of the hour. erin burnett outfront. mary snow is in new york monitoring other top stories in "the situation room." mary?

>> the dow ended above 13,000 a 13,000 points for the first time since may. yet investors aren't liking what they see from facebook. shares tumbled friday, despite facebook's initial earnings report that was slightly better than analysts predicted. shares finishes at $23.71, down 12% for the day. worries loom over future quarters and specifically how the company will make money from its mobile platform. con irm iffed tornados in two pennsylvania town after a day of violent and deadly storms across the northeast. one woman desperate to find shelter at a camp site was crushed to death in her car. in new york state, a tornado packing winds of at least 110 miles per hour. two people were killed in that storm, including an assistant new york state attorney general. the iconic bakery that made mouths water in the big easy since 1922 was destroyed in a fire this morning. the five-alarm fire may have started in the fryer room.

the company vows it will rebuild. and we hope it does. candy. >> and we have one more. some tense moments for boston red sox fans after their beloved wally the green monster mysteriously disappeared. police say they caught a man driving with the costume after they put out an all-points bulletin about wally. he's named after the green wall in fenway park's left field. i guess red sox fans can sleep county tonight. >> thank heavens they settled that. thank you so much, mary snow. now, we want you to take a look at this unbelievable video. it is both amazing and so sad at the same time. it's near seattle. a home on the verge of plunging down a cliff. our lisa silverer has details.

>> reporter: the homeowners told us they think they might lose their house today. they could soon lose much more. the garage, the workshop, even the house, and they are powerless to stop it. hour by hour, more of the yard is eroding away. >> oh, look at this one. oh. holy. >> reporter: bit by bit, their beautiful property at the top of a cliff is breaking off and plunging down a 200-foot ravine to the beach below. just over a week ago, roy and rosalie noticed the first chunks breaking off. >> oh, i said, roy, the tree's gone. and it took part of the fence with it. and everything went downhill from there. >> reporter: the culprit is apparently an underground water source that just appeared without warning. >> all of a sudden, one day, just out of god's wonderment, there was this geyser coming out of the side and probably

squirting 25 feet in the air. >> reporter: it has cost them 50 feet of land, a 500-year-old tree and some rhododendrons. >> we planted all those. >> reporter: every day, it is getting closer to their buildings. their property used to look like this. now the cliff edge has come up to their outbuildings, including the greenhouse and roy's shop. >> i don't think it's going to get to the house but it sure is going to take over my shop and that's my pride and joy. >> reporter: they cleared out the should be thursday but there's nothing they can do about the underground propane tank that used to be 12 feet from the edge. now it's 12 inches, fire officials say. >> it could explode. a valve could bust off or the tank just slides down the hill innocently. don't know. >> reporter: so far the erosion has been moving at a steady pace. >> i don't know of any way to stop it. i think, you know, it was god that started it and god will have to stop it. >> reporter: no one knows whether the house they have lived in together for 12 years

will be next. >> we cry and we laugh and -- it's all we can do. it's devastating. absolutely devastating. >> reporter: so far, they are still living in the house. they say today has started out pretty quiet. then again, that's what they thought yesterday, until evening came and they had another slide. candy. >> lisa sylvester, thank you. we're only a few minutes away from learning the secret of who's lighting the olympic torch. you'll find out right here on cnn. i upgraded to the new sprint direct connect. so i can get three times the coverage. [ chirp ] [ manager 2 ] it's like working in a giant sandbox with all these huge toys. and with the fastest push-to-talk... i can keep track of them all. [ chirp ] [ chirp ] [ male announcer ] upgrade to the new "done." with access to the fastest push-to-talk and three times the coverage. now when you buy one kyocera duracore rugged phone, for $49.99, you'll get four free. visit a sprint store, or call 855-878-4biz. [ chirp ]

i think we should see other people. in fact, i'm already seeing your best friend, justin. ♪ i would've appreciated a proactive update on the status of our relationship. who do you think i am, tim? quicken loans? at quicken loans, we provide you with proactive updates on the status of your home loan. and our innovative online tools ensure that you're always in the loop. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze.

it's one of the biggest homeland security inspired dramas on television. here's cnn's suzanne kelly. >> my name is kerry matheson. i served as a case officer in

iraq. >> reporter: she's a cia officer with a secret of her own. claire danes plays kerry matheson. >> how soon after you were taken did the interrogations begin? >> pretty much right away. >> reporter: sergeant nicholas brody is a man who's come home from iraq a hero or is he? his life, along with kerry's, collide in showtime's "homeland." fueled by the minds of just six rioters. including "24" executive producer howard gordon and runner alex ganzer. they're not your younger racier hollywood crowd. >> definitely older than younger. >> reporter: just days before the first episode of season two was scheduled to be shot, gordon said the script wasn't quite finished. >> i won't deny it. there's panic. we try to keep the panic at bay and in denial. >> like to just make it up and then try to sell it as believable. >> reporter: louis's performance

recently landed him a seat at a state dinner in washington, d.c. for british prime minister cameron. it turns out another world leader may be a bigger fan. >> well, this is the quote from "rolling stone" magazine when we learned that the president was a fan of the show. >> reporter: it's not just the president who's watching. "homeland" has been nominated for nine emmys. what's their secret? >> we don't try to answer much. we try to raise questions, you know, how should america project its power overseas. what is the -- you know what is the result of these wars that we fault. how safe are we? are we safer, we are less safe? >> reporter: here's the good intel on season two. look for story themes dealing with the middle east. specifically the relationship and tensions that exist between israel, iran and the united states. >> we deal with kerry matheson trying to operate at an even more intense level as she gets

more intelligence but working from further outside the cia. >> reporter: but don't press for more. after all, some things are meant to be kept secret. >> i'm not telling you anything more than that. >> reporter: suzanne kelly, cnn, aspen, colorado. erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. "outfront" next, breaking news on the suspect in the colorado movie theater massacre and his mental state. plus, a possible mass shooting plot foiled. a maryland man in custody tonight who police say had an arsenal of weapons who also called himself a joker. and is the next fukushima disaster waiting to happen along the california coast? let's go "outfront." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett. we have breaking news on colorado's shooting suspect

james holmes. cnn has learned holmes was seeing a university of colorado psychiatrist before the attack last friday, which left 12 dead and 58 wounded. the new information is coming to light now because lawyers for holmes are asking authorities to hand over a package that holmes had sent to his psychiatrist. this package was discovered in the university's medical campus mailroom on monday. and it included a letter that contained references to shooting people and drawings of a gunman and his victims. according to cbs news. we now know the package was addressed to dr. lynne fenton, the director of student mental health at the university of colorado. a resume posted on the university's website says fenton sees between 15 to 20 graduate students each week for medication and psychotherapy. she also serves as a psychiatrist, seeing between 5 and 10 patients according, again, to that resume. in a court filing, holmes public